Grolla42

I’ve been out if the Jeep game for like 5 yrs, but I finallly got myself a new rig and building it up now. I’ve forgotten a lot of info so I am trying see who and what is out there.

JandDGreens

What kind wheeling are you interested in? I have a couple of friends that have pretty nice xj's

Grolla42

Minor to moderate. I’m only slapping in a 4.5” lift with 33s. For now...

JandDGreens

My rig currently has a 4.5 inch lift and 33"s also. I have a manual tranny which came with 3.07 gears. But when my son's xjs' frame crack by the steering box I decided rather than fix it, I bought him another xj instead. I took his axles and stuffed the axles under my rig, gaining the 8.25 Crysler rear end and 3.55 gears. Wheeling became so much better.

Now I have started to install all the goodies I've been accumulating over the past couple of years. I am currantly installing drop brackets, a new track bar, and a 1.5" spacer to bring it right at 6"s in the front. I have some lightly used 3.5" old man emu leaf springs that are going into the rear. I have adjustable rear shackles so I am hoping that it will match-up well with the front. As the winch should take away a 1/2 inch in the front. That is just the beginning. I bought a 231 t-case with the sye already installed. While I'm swapping that in, I have a set of Hooligan mid stiffners to weld in. When I welded my friends (Marks) mid stiffners in his xj I found that the exhaust was in the way so I'll drop that too and weld in a flex joint into the exhaust while I'm at it so that when I'm abusing my rig it won't stress out the manifold.

Then the last but probably best mod of all. Is to finally install my dana 44 axle w/arb locker and 4.55 gears and have someone install the front arb/4.55 locker/gear set into my dana 30.

I don't know if I can get all that done buy the time wheeling gets going for the season but I am hoping to. But at any rate I hope I'm at a phase that I can still hit a trail or two by then.

If your interested in meeting somewhere to check out your rig and get acquainted I'm only a 30 minute drive from Aurora (I'm in Englewood) and am always game to find a new wheeling buddy if that's in the cards!!!! Let me know and we can set something up. Maybe I can get Mark to take me with his rig so at least you can check out his rig. It's pretty great. We just installed a set of sliders that go well with the rest of his rig. Mark and I go wheeling together at least 4 times a year and I double that with the trips I take with the club we belong to. Cheers! David

Grolla42

Wow that’s a lot to undertake in the next couple months lol I actually live off of I25 & Yale; haven’t updated my profile yet. I’d be down to meet up sometime though. My rig is currently stock, but I should have all the basic stuff here in 2-3 weeks.

-Taylor

JandDGreens

You can have a lot of fun wheeling a stock Xj. In fact it was in my sons stock xj is how I got hooked. I find that the gearing and tire size in stock form the rig feels unstoppable so much torque in 4 low. Once I bought my rig it was lifted and 33" tires. With our dealing with the gearing, wheeling my rig was next to impossable. If I'm right you have dealt with building a rig before. Sometimes I feel that once I get tired of the harder trails that require a built rig, I would like to buy one and just slightly modify it.

RockyMtn96XJ

Revive the thread. New guy here and just found this thread. I posted in the intro section with my stock XJ pic. Looking forward to my jeep and camping, wheeling, etc.... I'm in Littleton.

d k

Been lurken here awhile myself.

Over in Highlands Ranch.
Would love to meet up/go wheelin’ sometime.

XJdanS

In littleton - long time Naxja member, first time CF member.

been on an XJ hiatus for the last 8 years - recently been buidling up an 01-

looking for friends to wheel with.

RockyMtn96XJ

We can try to throw something together this Spring. I'm still stock, but I'm down to give 'er a shot. Plan on a 4.5 and 31's hopefully late spring or early summer.

Does anyone know where I can get an A/C control panel besides the junkyard. Or does anyone have one laying around they'd like to part with and make some extra $$? I was changing my blower motor switch yesterday and broke mine in a couple places and now I don't have heat because the cable wont open the heater door. That thing was so fragile it was insane... So I had to drive to work with the steering column cover off, dash bezel off, A/C control panel hanging, and no heat hahahaa. Good thing its only about a 10 minute drive. I'm going to go to the Littleton U-pull and check. Website says they have 4 XJs on the lot.

Gearwhine

I'd also like to get acquainted with the group and get out this spring. I wheeled a 96 2dr 5spd xj out in NJ and PA back in high school and college and was in close ties with the NAC chapter of NAXJA. That was likely the greatest group of people I've ever met in any automotive group. Here are some photos of the Jeep and the work I did. I bit off more than I had time for in the end, then moved to Texas after school...then to Colorado, and sold it as an incomplete project jeep close to 10 years ago.

I just bought myself a 96 4dr auto in totally stock form last October, and found out quickly I couldn't keep it stock. I'm working on keeping it very mild mannered, and attempting to make everything generally reversible when I feel I'm done with wheeling again (it's bound to happen). I'd like to stick to 31s at a maximum, but protect the hell out of it. I've already got powertrax no slip front and rear, rear bumper, gas tank skid. I'll be building some rock sliders soon, and installing an ARES front bumper that's sitting in my garage.

So yeah...Hello Colorado crew...I'm near Sloan's Lake in Denver.

JandDGreens

Hey hope everthing is well with you all. We should definitely put together a trail run some time this summer. 91 2-door with a few other Xj owners as trail buds.

RockyMtn96XJ

I'm waiting on that stimulus check from the gubment and my work is giving everyone $500, so it sounds like lift time for me in the near future!!!!!
My wife may not agree so much. I just spent a few hundred bucks getting custom exhaust on my 01 Camaro SS hahahaha
Whats the consensus on 3"+ lift and 30's....? functional or stupid?

RockyMtn96XJ

Actually never mind.... 3" and 30's looks perfectly fine.
I REALLY like 4.5" and 31's, but don't really wanna spend the cash on a new 4.5"....

JandDGreens

I'm going to be honest with you, I have been continually twiking my rig, I love the way it handles with a 4.5 inch lift and 33"s. But it comes at a price. And if I were to do things all over again I wouldn't spend the money or effort doing it that way. Do yourself a favor and go with putting together a very cheap inexpensive 3" lift and cut your fender wells to accommodate some nice 31" ko 2's . You will enjoy your rig and find the you can go so many great places. Just my 2 cents. I figure you can accomplish this for under $500 if you go about it correctly. Not including the tires of course.